Tony Adrian and Marie Bossard's Energy Sustainable House

CEET toured Tony Adrian and Marie Bossard's environmentally friendly home, which was designed by Eddie Cazayoux AIA.  The builders were Kip Cormier and Stuart Green from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. The sole water source for the home is rainwater; other features of this energy-efficient home include a 1.9 kW solar power system, a solar water heater, and a composting toilet. Tony and Marie decided to go "off the grid" because of the prohibitive cost of connecting to the municipal electricity and  sewage systems.

Tony Adrian's home, just outside of Opelousas	Tony describing his downspouts and rainwater collection system
A porch surrounds the entire house with many edible plants growing in pots	A state approved composting toilet

Tony described the many design features that keep the house at a comfortable temperature year-round. One element is the large number of windows that increase ventilation. If the daytime temperature exceeds 93°F, Tony and Marie close the windows in the mornig to retain the cool night air. In the evening, when the sun begins to drop below the horizon, they open the windows. Another feature is the open design plan and lack of kitchen cabinets. This reduced the initial cost of building materials and increases air flow through the house. Two dishwashers are installed in the kitchen - one for washing and one for storing clean dishes!

Windows are left open during cooler temperatures to allow for air circulation throughout the house	Two dishwashers with no kitchen cabinets

More information about Tony Adrian and Marie Bossard's house can be found at the following websites: http://www.lses.org/tonysys.html, http://crasch.livejournal.com/404537.html, http://homes-across-america.org/search/details.cfm?who=153&Feature=all&action=showDetails&Query=byState